Believe in Yourself, Maiko's Story
by Mindight Ryoko
Summary: Maiko Sasaki is 12 years old. When she was 6, she fell from a cliff and was presumed dead. However, she becomes a witch in the 6 long years of staying with a mysterious woman called
1. Phase 1, Return from the Dead

Note: All characters are strictly fictional, and are not made to be like anyone specific. Do not steal what I have written. I worked very hard on this, and it's not even done yet, but if you do steal it, I'll make your life miserable. ^.^ Thank you! -Ichigo  
Prologue  
  
Have you ever tried so hard to believe in yourself, but the school bully kept telling you it wasn't so? Well that's what happened to a very ordinary 6 year old girl named Maiko. She was in first grade, and trying as hard as she knew how to deal with the school bully, whose name was Asuka. There was a rumor that at the end of the town, where the forest laid, there was an evil witch who would kill you and eat you if you got lost in her realm of the wood at night. "That's not true!" Maiko yelled. "Witches aren't real, and even if they were, everyone would know." "How can you be sure?" Asuka replied with a smirk. "You might as well be a witch yourself." "I am not!" Maiko cried loudly. "But if I was, I'd fly down on my broom and put a spell on you for a million years!" Asuka looked upset at Maiko's comment. "Oh really? We'll I'd break your stupid broom right in half!" Asuka shouted back. They turned their backs on each other, and then, Maiko's best friend named Hanami stepped over to the distraught Maiko. "Come on, you know that could never happen anyway." Maiko sighed, and nodded her head. "I guess you're right. You always are.." Asuka saw her chance to egg poor Maiko on. "You're just scared." She said. "You're afraid of being on the dinner menu aren't ya? Well I dare you to go into that wood tonight at 8:00 pm and hunt for the witch." The little group that had been forming around Maiko and Asuka gasped at such a dare. Maiko looked long and hard into the ground and then looked up. "I'll do it. And just to prove I did it, Hanami will come with me." Hanami looked a little shocked at Maiko's statement, but nodded her head yes, saying she could find an excuse to tell her Aunt.  
  
Then when night fell, Maiko and Hanami took a flashlight and went to the edge of the forest outside of town with Asuka and her posse following behind making rude comments along the way. "Hey if you get killed, we'll all feel sorry for you." Asuka commented. Maiko looked into the ever- growing darker forest and grabbed Hanami's wrist and pulled her forward. "I'll come back! Watch me!" Maiko shouted one last time before disappearing into the darkness.  
  
As time went by, Maiko and Hanami got more lost then they both expected. "Maiko, this was a bad idea, we should go back." Hanami said in a shaky voice. "No! If we do, I'll be teased by Asuka for the rest of forever, and that's a long time." Maiko said without even looking at Hanami, who kept looking every which way and looking more scared. Fog loomed in to the forest, scaring Hanami more then ever, but Maiko stood firm and refused to turn back. The fog had gotten so thick, that Maiko had to slow down because she couldn't see where she was going. Hanami could see no less, and tripped over a rock, breaking the hold Maiko had on her wrist. Maiko didn't realize, as her mind was elsewhere, until Hanami cried out in a voice filled with fear. "Maiko!" she screamed. "Maiko! Where are you???" Maiko tried to turn back, but the fog had gotten so bad, she didn't know which way was back any longer. Hanami's voice got further away. Maiko was past worried now, and felt bad for dragging Hanami into the situation. She kept walking and looking at the ground until she heard growling noises directly behind her. "Ha.Hanami.?" she said in a quivery voice. "Is that." but she didn't have time to finish her sentence as a wild animal snapped at her leg. That's all it took for poor lost Maiko to start running at full speed and not pay attention to where she was going. She kept running and looking at the ground thinking and praying she'd be something great, and that she'd get out of this. Then, with a ray of hope, she heard Hanami's voice. She called out to it with happiness. "Hanami! I'm here Hanami!" She threw a rock into a faint looking nearby tree. She heard Hanami running towards her, but now her only problem was, she heard the growling too. She slowly started to back up and stare at the ground; as it was the only thing she could see. Then, suddenly, the ground wasn't there. She screamed as loud as she could and heard Hanami running towards her. The last thing she saw was Hanami's scared and frightened face looking in horror as she fell and faded into the night.  
  
Later that night, Hanami was seen running as fast as her young legs could carry her out of the forest with a tear-stained face and her school uniform ripped in several places. "Where's Maiko?" Asuka demanded. Hanami didn't even answer. She just crouched down onto the ground and cried. It didn't take Asuka and her posse long to find out something had gone horribly wrong. "Is this a joke??" Asuka demanded. Hanami stood up and gave Asuka her death stare before flying at her, arms waving, nails scratching, teeth biting, and angry words flying out of her mouth. No one bothered to help Asuka up. They knew something worse then wrong had happened. "Where is she..?" One of Asuka's posse members asked. "She.Maiko." Hanami could hardly speak. She fell to the ground crying again and was nearly hysterical. "SHE FELL!! OFF A CLIFF! I SAW HER! I SAW HER SCARED EYES BEFORE SHE FELL!! AND ITS ASUSKA'S FAULT!!" Asuka still a little dazed from Hanami's attack, immediately got up. "She..fell.?" Asuka quietly said, in pure shock. Hanami was even more hysterical now, and was shaking so badly she couldn't stand. Later, the police were called. People searched for Maiko's body for weeks. No one found her. But rumored by the children in the 1st grade, she had been killed and eaten by witch in the woods. And so Maiko's tragic tale was forgotten by most except Hanami, and 6 years past by. Phase 1, Return from the Dead!  
  
Returning to the morning after Maiko fell.  
  
Maiko realized she had fallen into a steam and was soaking wet. "I.survived the fall.?" she thought. Then, a woman who just so happened to be going through the forest saw dazed and confused Maiko sitting in a pool of water. "Child, are you lost?" she called out. Maiko stood up. The woman came over to Maiko, whose navy blue and white school uniform was torn in several places. Maiko looked flustered and cold. "Here," she said softly. "Let me help." The woman muttered a few quiet words and stared directly at Maiko, who was shaking. Suddenly, Maiko felt her body warm up a little, and she noticed all the cuts and scars were gone. Maiko stared down at her knee, which had been bleeding. "What happened?" she asked somewhat stunned. "Well, you see, my name is Kijo, and I'm a witch. You've fallen into my realm, and you must stay here for double the year of your age. How old are you?" Maiko could hardly believe what she was hearing. "Witch.? Are you going to hurt me?? Please don't!" she cried out, expecting something awful to happen. "Calm down! Who told you such a thing?" Kijo asked, rather surprised. Maiko went to answer, but the magic of Kijo's forest had made her forget. "I don't remember." she said looking disoriented. Kijo looked around her and sighed. "Well, how old are you?" "I'm 6..I think." "6? Well double of 6 is 12. Come, you must stay with me.." Normally Maiko would have rejected, but the magic made her follow Kijo deeper into the forest, where Maiko learned magic, to ride brooms, to cast spells, and everything else. And the years past by so quickly, that the day Maiko turned 12, she remembered all she had forgotten, and Kijo had to let Maiko go back to her parents, who thought she had died. Kijo welcomed Maiko into her home any time she liked, but warned her to be ready for the shock of "returning from the dead". "You'll be something great Maiko. You will. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Use your magic as often as you need, but not for violence. Remember, this town will depend on you one day, and you must be there to save it. Maiko, if you can't, no one will."  
  
And with that, Maiko was off on her broom soaring back to the road that Hanami visited as often as she could to see Maiko's memorial. Maiko landed gently near a tree and picked up her broom and carried it to where she saw a small cross and a photo, stained from sun and rain. The sign read: "To Maiko Sasaki. Beloved child and friend." Maiko felt like crying. It was like they had forgotten her. Come to think of it, she never remembered search parties. She wiped away the tears and stood up, ready to make her come back. She slung her broom over her shoulder, and pulled her witches' hat and cloak off, and put on the school uniform that she had made fit her by magic. She fixed her hair and tried to smile as she summoned it all back into her bag. She took one last breath and looked back. She could visit Kijo whenever she liked now. There was no secret of Kijo's forest she didn't know. She turned her head proudly, and fast-walked back to the town.  
  
Hanami sighed. It was coming up upon the anniversary of Maiko's supposed death. "What do you look so upset about?" A friendly voice asked. "You look like the world just ended! Be happy." It was Chizuko, one of Hanami's new friends in the 7th grade. She was in training to become a psychic, and said she knew what was going to happen. Most people took it as a joke, but often, Chizuko was right. Hanami sighed again and figured she might as well tell Chizuko. "Well, "she started. "My best friend's name was Maiko Sasaki. When we were 6, she fell from a cliff by the old witches' forest. They never found her.." She stopped and looked sadly out the window. "Do you think her spirit will come back? It is going to be 6 years.." Chizuko tried to look hopeful. "Maybe."she said. "She just might."  
  
Meanwhile, back on the road, Maiko was just entering the town. She stared down at her school uniform and forgot to look where she was going and accidentally walked into a tree. She sank down and sat with her back to it and looked down at her skirt. "Where should I go first..." she wondered. "Home? No...They might not live there anymore." She looked up and then back down. "My school.Yamako Academy.." (Yamako Academy instructs K to 12.) She stood up and paced toward her old school. She remembered and thought about Hanami. "She must have been so upset."Maiko thought quietly. "I never came back.. They never found me. I wonder if Hanami put pocky and rice cakes on my alter for my spirit.." Maiko laughed at the thought. She stared up at the sky and walked along. "I wonder what Asuka thought.. I wonder if Hanami even remembers me.." She pulled her head out of the clouds and looked back down. She was only 7 buildings away.  
  
Chizuko yawned. History was boring, and Akima-sensei never made it any better. Chizuko stared dreamily out the window and thought about what Hanami had said; about her old best friend who had died 6 years earlier. Chizuko felt an unfamiliar feeling run through her mind, and she shuttered. Hanami, who sat next to Chizuko, was tuning Akima-sensei out too, noticed that Chizuko looked distraught. "What's wrong?" she whispered quietly. "Hirano-Chan!" Akima-sensei called out angrily. "Do you wish to teach the class today?" Hanami turned red. "No, I'm sorry Akima-sensei." Akima-sensei nodded. But Hanami couldn't help but notice Chizuko's expression. Chizuko scribbled the word "Maiko" down on a scroll in Japanese. Hanami looked shocked. Chizuko gave a half smile and kept looking downward; knowing something historical was going to happen.  
  
Maiko had been walking slowly towards Yamako Academy. She couldn't decide weather to tell Hanami about her magic. She decided it would be best no to, and that she could find an explanation for the broom. She stopped a foot away from the gate, and thought. The "returning-from-the-dead" thing was going to be huge. Maiko sighed, and then smiled. She boldly held her head up high, and made the first step into the school gate..  
  
At the same time, Chizuko felt the twinge and stood up. Akima-sensei and the other students stared. "Ishida-Chan! What do you think you're doing?" Chizuko looked firm. "6 years ago, a girl named Sasaki, Maiko fell from a cliff in the forest outside town, and they never found her body. Hanami- Chan was he best friend, and I think she needs to see this." The whole class gasped. Hanami looked shocked, but Chizuko didn't give Hanami me the time to object. She pulled her up, grabbed her hand, and ran out of the room, with Akima-sensei yelling behind her. Chizuko didn't pay attention to Akima-sensei's threats and kept running down from the 3rd floor. "Chizuko! What are you doing??" Hanami cried, running at Chizuko's mercy. Chizuko continued pulling Hanami as they raced down the halls. "I can't explain. When you told me about Maiko, I felt this strange feeling." They finally reached the lower level, and Chizuko stopped running and told Hanami to go on alone. Hanami knew to trust Chizuko on whatever she felt, and uneasily put on her shoes and slowly walked out the door.  
  
Maiko set her broom and belongings up against a tree and walked across the concrete. Hanami paced slowly forward and wasn't quite ready for what she saw. She saw, her beloved best friend, Maiko, standing and crying looking towards her. Hanami had never run faster then she ever had when she saw Maiko. Maiko was smiling and crying. "Mai.ko?" Hanami said in a quivering voice. Maiko couldn't speak. She was crying too much. Hanami moved an inch forward and broke into instantaneous tears. She hugged Maiko around the waist before sinking to the ground crying. Maiko crouched with her best friend and they cried together. All of Akima-sensei's class was staring out the 2 windows gasping. Chizuko was running through the 7th grade hall. "If you knew the once thought to be dead Sasaki, Maiko-chan, come to the courtyard!!" she yelled as loud as she could. Screen doors and regular doors opened, and kids and teachers rushed out, heading to see if Chizuko's latest prediction was true. "Oh my god!" a teacher cried looking out a window before rushing towards the stairwell, which was full of children and teachers who had heard Maiko's tragic tale. The loudspeaker called for order, but no one listened. They all wanted to see if Maiko Sasaki had returned from the dead.  
  
Maiko and Hanami stood up, smiled, and embraced each other. Students were running out of the main building. Hanami giggled. "I guess Chizuko told a few people who knew or heard your story.." she said with a laughing smile. "Who's Chizuko?" Maiko asked, puzzled. "You'll meet her later.right now you need to make an explanation to this horde of people that's coming out to see you." Hanami was right. More then 100 students and teachers had come, and had formed a circle around Hanami and Maiko. Everyone whispered and looked uneasily, as if Maiko were a ghost. Hanami bowed her head shyly, and stood a few feet away from her friend. At last, all the other students were looking out of their windows to see what the commotion was, and the head master filed his way through the crowd. Even he gasped when he saw Maiko, as he had been a friend of the Sasaki family. "Who are you?" He said unsurely. Maiko looked around to all the staring faces, the people commenting and whispering, the smiling and unsteady faces. Hanami spoke up. "She is exactly who you think she is." Chizuko was at the back of the crowd, the yellow ribbon in her hair noticeable above all others. Hanami smiled. Maiko smiled too, and looked at her friend, and then whipped away her tear-sainted face. "My name is Maiko Sasaki. 6 years ago I fell from a cliff in the forest outside town. I was presumed dead, but I am alive, not hurt, and healthy. I was saved, and today I am returning." The whole crowd burst into applause, and cheers. The press was called, and so for Maiko's first day back to reality, she became the most known person in the whole town, and her school. 


	2. Phase 2, Old and New Problems

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Phase 2, Old and New Problems~~~~~~~~  
  
Maiko Sasaki had returned from the dead. The word had spread all across the school and was leaking into the town and through newspapers. Headlines with big bold print letters read: "THE CHILD MAIKO SASAKI FOUND ALIVE AT YAMAKO ACADEMY AFTER 6 YEAR DISSAPEIRANCE!" After the students, teachers, and press left, and Chizuko winked and said goodbye, Hanami and Maiko were finally alone to say what they need to say after 6 long years. "Well how do you like that?" Hanami said looking down at a paper. "They called you a child." Maiko smiled. "Well I've been dead for 6 years. No one remembered me…except you." Hanami turned and looked at Maiko, who had a misty look in her eyes. "Never mind" Maiko said quickly. "What ever happened to Asuka?" "Asuka?" Hanami replied, a little shocked that Maiko remembered Asuka of all people. "Yea, she's still here. I wonder what she'd say if she saw you?" "Well…" An uneasy voice said, and a figure stepped in from in front of the gate. "I'd have to say I do remember her." Maiko and Hanami both stared. It was Asuka. Asuka hadn't changed. She still had her blue eyes, and her blonde hair. (Which was bleached.) She also had the same old attitude too. But now, Asuka looked as if she would cry. "Maiko Sasaki…." She began. Asuka turned her back to the 2 girls and swallowed. They could tell she was crying. "I'm sorry." She said haughtily without turning around. She turned back through the school gates and left. Maiko wondered if what had just happened was real. Hanami broke the silence. "Where are your parents?" she asked. "I'm not sure.." Maiko replied. "Did they move?" "I'm not sure either...But until then, you can stay with me!" She replied happily. Maiko nodded. "Are you sure your parents won't mind?" "Miss a chance to be in the news? Never. Besides, you're my best friend and they like you." They both got up and Maiko went over to where she had laid the broom and her belongings. "What's with the broom?" Hanami asked. *sweatdrop* "Oh…Not..Nothing…" Maiko stammered. Hanami gave her a strange look, but shook her head and they left the school courtyard, and headed for Hanami's house.   
Hanami's parents were in for quite a shock when their daughter returned home with the missing girl. "Kobanwa…" Maiko said shyly while bowing. Hanami's parents only nodded, and when dinner was offered, they were very silent. "It figures they're so quiet…I might as well have been dead for the past 6 years…" The dinner table sounded alone and empty until Hanami's father spoke. "Um.. Maiko?" He sounded uneasy and somewhat scared. "Do you know where your parents are?" Maiko stared up at the ceiling and then looked back down. "Well, I'm not really sure. Did they move?" Hanami and her family flinched at Maiko's words. "Did….something happen to them?" Hanami looked down. "Well Maiko…" Her voice trailed off. "Well Maiko," Hanami's mother replied. "It was in the news a year after you disappeared." Hanami's mother got up and came back a few minutes with an old newspaper stack. Maiko picked up the first, which bore the title "6 year old student at Yamako Academy disappeared as of April 19th" The next read a similar title, and so on. The last featured info on Maiko's parents, which Maiko read quietly. "Maiko Sasaki's parents, Hiroko and Jen Sasaki disappear after a year of their daughter's disappearance." Maiko stared down and then back up to see the whole table looking at her. Hanami's little brother, Masaru, walked in. He was 7 years old. "Mommy! I found a kitty!" He said happily, and dropped the cat onto the floor. The cat meowed, and walked over to the table. "Masaru, take that thing out of here…you know how I feel about cats." The cat however got up when Masaru tried to reach for it. It got up and crept over to Maiko's chair. It was a black cat. Hanami's mother jumped. "Masaru! I told you to take it away from the table…" Hanami bent over and whispered to Maiko. "My mother was told old legends of a black cat responding only to a witch. She's scared to death of them."   
  
Maiko stared at the little boy chasing the cat into the next room and wondered about what Hanami had said. The thought of anyone finding out what had happened to her over those 6 years scared her. It wasn't something she wanted the whole world to know about, especially Hanami. What if Hanami didn't like her anymore? What if she was as scared of witches as her mother? It was all too much. "What am I going to do about my broom…?" She thought. Just at that moment, Hanami walked in carrying Maiko's broom. "What's with this?" she asked curiously. "Err…" Maiko stuttered. "I worked as a house maid to get the money to come back?" She made up the first thing that came to her mind. Hanami looked at her for a minute, and then said, "You must have had such a bad time. Well at least you're back now!" For the first time since she arrived at Hanami's house, Maiko finally felt happy. It had been a long day, and she was tired. She lay down on the mattress, and before Hanami could say another word, she fell asleep….With the black cat sleeping next to her. 


	3. Phase 3, The Dream

~~~~~~~~~~~Phase 3, The Dream ~~~~~~~~~~  
  
School was canceled that Saturday due to the mass shock of the town. Hanami and Maiko spent the whole day walking through a local park. Maiko made up a story about losing her way and finding a family to take her in. She used a slight spell to make it seem believable, though feeling bad about having to use even a tiny bit of magic on her best friend.   
  
"You know we start school on Monday…just imagine what everyone will say…" Hanami said, half talking to herself. Maiko had been wondering the same thing. Would anyone she knew be at Yamako Academy? Would they remember her? Or would they say, "That's the girl that everyone thought was dead!" and, "Look! She's alive after all these years!" And so on. She looked up into the sky, and let her medium brown hair shine in the sunlight. She began to think if her life would ever be the same again after meeting Kijo, and then returning after 6 years. She thought about what Kijo had said, "Remember, this town will depend on you one day, and you must be there to save it. Maiko, if you can't, no one will." "I wonder what she meant…" Maiko thought to herself. "What are you thinking of, Maiko?" Hanami asked looking up at the sky. "Hmm...Well, everything I guess. The world, my past, the future, everything…" They both stared off into the sky, as the beautiful cherry blossom trees swayed in the wind, and their petals blew all around them. The sun shone brightly, and it seemed as if nothing could have ruined the moment, accept for 1 person. Asuka and her posse, who just so happened to be coming into the park at that moment.   
  
"Well, well, well…" A voice said. "If it isn't little miss popular. Remember me?" Maiko looked back down, and opening her eyes, she saw the glint of blonde hair, and steel blue-grey eyes. "No, Asuka, bur I bet she was trying to forget." Hanami said, smirking. Asuka ignored Hanami's comment and stared at Maiko. Maiko looked directly into Asuka's eyes and opened her mouth, but then closed it, stood up and smiled. "I missed you, Asuka." She said quietly, with a content look on her face. Hanami got up and looked at Asuka, and then Maiko, who was still smiling. Asuka seemed to be at a loss for words. "Come on, Hanami." Maiko said. "Let's go now." And she and Hanami turned and walked out of the cherry blossom-filled park. Maiko turned around quickly to flash a quick smile at Asuka. They heard footsteps, and a faint call behind them, but Maiko had seized the moment to use her magic for something good. The cherry blossom petals had made a slight barrier between them and Asuka, like a veil. "Well, so much for a weekend without Asuka…" Hanami said, muttering. "I was hoping she would have moved out of town when she was partially blamed for your accident, but she stayed. How annoying…" Maiko laughed. "Well it's nice to know you haven't changed at all." She said to Hanami, and they both laughed.   
They walked through the park, and through parts of the town for the rest of the day, and they even went to buy school items for Maiko. Hanami bought herself a white book bag, and Maiko got a deep purple bag. When they returned to Hanami's house that evening, the black cat was asleep on Maiko's bed. "That's scary…" Hanami said. "Should I tell my mother to get rid of it?" Maiko looked at the purring cat and thought for a moment. "No, just leave it. It's not hurting anyone, and there's nothing wrong with black cats. They're just black, it's not their fault." Maiko replied thoughtfully. "Yea, I suppose you're right." Hanami said back. "Come on, let's go have dinner."   
  
When dinner was over, and it was time for bed, Maiko began to think about her parents again. She wondered if they'd heard the news and were coming back for her, or if they'd died along with her 6 years ago. She was so busy thinking about her parents, she almost forgot to think about school that would be starting the next day. "Oh no…my uniform…" She thought silently. "I don't have any money for a new one…" Then she remembered a spell Kijo had taught her when measuring cups. "Oh yea, the enlargement spell…" She remembered suddenly. She quietly whispered, "enlarge" and held a hand above her too-small uniform from the 1st grade. Almost instantly, her navy blue and white school uniform enlarged to fit her exact size. Maiko tried it on and spun in a small circle. "Well, it fits!" She said triumphantly. Hanami walked in to see Maiko in her uniform. "Wow, you got a new school uniform! But how did you get one to fit you?" Maiko looked for the words, but they wouldn't come. "I um…err.." Hanami nodded her head and then spoke again. "Oh yeah, you must have bought a new one when we went school shopping today." Maiko sweat dropped, and then nodded hastily. "Um, yea, that's right." She quickly left the room to change into her kung-fu suit (pajamas) and then slipped quietly into bed.  
  
Maiko didn't sleep very well that night. She had a terrible dream where she saw a few teenage-looking boys dressed in black and silver. They were standing near Yamako Academy, smirking, and chanting. The sky had clouded over to a dark an unwelcoming grey, and lightning flashed. Maiko was floating nearby on her broom watching the boys, when they drifted slowly upward and raised their arms. Then 1 of them noticed Maiko hovering on her broom nearby. They all flew swiftly over to her and began to laugh evilly. "Wha…what do you want?" Maiko said stuttering. They began to taunt her, and pill at her hair and her broom. "Stop it!" She wanted to yell, but the words would no longer come from her mouth. She couldn't speak. "What is it little girl? Scared of us?" One boy said. "What's your name?" He asked a horrified Maiko. "Speak." He said coldly, and he raised his finger to her lips and swayed his finger and muttered something quietly. Maiko began to cough. "What…did you do??" She demanded to know. He laughed and then replied, "You're Maiko aren't you? Maiko Sasaki, the dead girl?" Maiko stared, and then responded quietly. "Yes…yes, that's me…" The boy began to laugh evilly as the others tightened their grip on her broom, arms, and neck. "How would you like to really be dead?" The others laughed as well. Maiko tried not to show her fear. "Why do you want to kill me? What have I done??? Why do you want to kill me…" And she saw no more.   
Maiko awoke the following morning sweaty and out of breath. "Maiko, are you ok?" Hanami asked. Maiko stared into the blankets and looked at Hanami and rubbed her neck. Her neck had finger nail marks on it. "It was just a dream…wasn't it?" Maiko thought uneasily. "Maiko, we have to get ready, school starts in 30 minutes!" Hanami said. Maiko still felt drowsy. "I guess…" She yawned, and dreamed about going back to sleep. "Come on Maiko!" Hanami said excitedly. "You'll get to meet Chizuko! She's the one who knew you were coming back!" Maiko rolled over and looked up at Hanami. "She what?" She asked quietly. "I said," Hanami repeated, "She predicted your return yesterday! She stood up right in class and said you'd come back and you did!" Maiko stared in awe. "How would she know that..?" Maiko felt a bit strange. "Oh well, she's in a psychic in training." Hanami replied. "Really.. What's her master's name?" The black cat sat at the edge of Maiko's bed, with it's cold, green-yellow eyes, watching. "Mistress, actually. I think her name was Kijo." 


End file.
